Friday, March 30, 2007

LAST DAY OF THE RACE: Farewell hongkong! Till the next time!

The last day of our trip was mainly alloted to go to the peak and get everything we still wanted to get before heading out to the airport at 7:30 pm. :) Both of us woke up extra early (around 8 a.m.) and then already started packing the loot we have bought from the first 2 days along with our other things! I then instructed drew to be strategic about packing his stuff so that his things prior to this last day's haul will be mostly on one side of his luggage and then the new stuff he buys for the day can be easily packed in later on. I then called the frontdesk and asked for a late check-out and they gladly obliged, giving us until 2 pm. :) We then left at 9:00 am to go to Central and then went out the J2 exit and walked along Garden's Road towards the Peak Tram.

It indeed is nice to walk in central in the morning --

but by this time drew and I just wanted to reach the peak tram because we've had enough of walking, thank you. haha.

You could tell that drew was still sleepy! hehe.

We then took the peak tram which was fun--

and reached the actual peak at around 10am.

We took a lot of pics of the cityview but the clear glass terrace walls are something else. There were moments that I got scared but pretended not to be! Drew kept teasing me though, plus I think he made me pose for a lot of pics whilst leaning on the clear glass on purpose. hahahaha!

A lovely austrian guy took this shot for us. Thank you again mister! heehee.

We then ate lunch at Bubba Gump at the peak, the resto had a very nice view and the food and service was the best we've had in hk! (Price was the best too btw, haha! But so worth it. *wink*)

We ordered steak and shrimp for andrew and cajun shrimps and caesar salad for me. Drink was the Run forrest run shake for both of us. Yummy!

By the time we finished eating I checked my watch and realized that it was already 12:00nn (remember that we had to check out by 2 pm?) and so I decided that we can only go to one more stop before heading back to tsim sha tsui. We then went down via the tram again--

Tram ride going down was so fun because we were seated backwards! haha.

and can you guess where we decided to have that one last stop?

Why H&M of course! hahaha. We were in central already anyway and it was only like 7 minutes away so we made a run (or more of a brisk walk) for it and gave ourselves a 60-minute-grab-all-you-like last minute shopping at H&M. hahaha! Well, we got a really nice haul because of the adrenalin I think. heehee. :) By the time we left h&m, it was already 1:15 pm so we were literally running towards the mtr station (with drew carrying 2 h&m paperbags!)

Can you believe that I took this shot whilst we were running to the mtr? haha!

Another "running" shot! The mtr station exit (or should I say entrance?) is right beside LV. XD

We then reached the hotel at around 1:40 and did a very quick final fixing of our luggages (as well as a quick change from my biker jacket into a cream cardigan) and then were able to check out at exactly 2 pm. phew! I told you it was really like an amazing race! hehehe. We were laughing like kids the whole time because we really cut it too close this time. XD

By 2:05 pm, drew and I then left our luggage at the bell services area and told them that we'll come back for the bags at around 7 pm as our flight is at 10 pm. Well, we still had 5 hours in our hands before 7 pm so guess where we went next?

We went to causeway bay --

Photo courtesy of lambcutlet.org as I wasn't able to take a site pic (though I did take a vid). The only difference is that during our visit, the red chinese new year decors had been taken down and changed to big colorful easter egg decors.

where andrew felt like eating haagen daz ice cream:

He got strawberry and I got tiramisu. So good!

and I got stuff from shiseido and something from lee garden's two. :) Can you guess what it is?

By 6 pm we then headed back to Tsim Sha Tsui but went down the landmark in central first to get a last minute thing. *wink wink*

Here are some random pics during our final-final stop in Central of hongkong island.

Drew checking out stuff at the small accessories case or perhaps just catching his breath with grace? haha!

We then went right back in the mtr station to TST and got there quickly. We actually reached kimberley road a little earlier than expected and so I told andrew that we have time to spare before going to the airport. :) We decided to eat at a super cute japanese dessert place called azabusabo in kimberley road.

I got waffles with mixed fruits and caramel ice cream,

and andrew had a chocolate and milk soft sundae.

After that nothing much happened. We got our luggages at 7 pm, waited for the free shuttle, got on the airport express, reached the airport, and checked in right on time. *wink*

Pic of our luggage whilst waiting in line for check in.

We simply waited at the terminal for 15 minutes before we finally got on the plane to manila... Goodbye HK was all I can say to myself sadly... :)

To end this post is the only loot pic I am able to take. This pic is missing some stuff but at least you'll get a feel of my shopping haul! I'm so sorry, i know it's fun to see pics of each of them but I cannot take anymore individual pics as it's too time-consuming! *sighs* I fixed them already in my closet and I kind of really need to take it easy before hell begins this sunday... hope I haven't disappointed everyone so much. *weak smile* Hey, pretty much everything is here. Just play spot the item! heehee.

You know, ending this entry makes me somewhat sentimental. I enjoyed every single moment of this trip and am glad to have shared this with all of you! ;) Can't wait to go back to hk! Drew probably can't wait either. hehe!

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Day 2 of Amazing Race with bro: Hongkong shopping and fun 2007

Day 2 had a little more in store for us as I had incorporated 2 major sightseeing events in our shopping itinerary. First one was to experience Ngong Ping 360 and the other one is to walk around the avenue of stars and catch the Symphony of lights at 8 pm. Fathom trying to fit those two things in one day and then make time to do some more shopping and eating as well! haha. :)

We both woke up at around 9:30 am and left the hotel at around 10:30 am. We then went to the MTR station to head for tung chung but not before passing by simply bread to get a quick bite. I got an egg tart and juice and drew got a croissant and a milk drink. Yep, our breakfast was grab and go coz we were racing with time remember?

Anyhow, we then reached Tung Chung at around 11:00 am and then lined up for the NP 360 cable car.

Drew took this pic whilst we were walking towards the ticket center. I had no idea my hair needs a haircut so badly! haha.

Actual lining up only took 5 minutes! Lucky! *wink*

The Ngong Ping 360 ride --

isn't really my cup of tea. I was quite at the edge of my seat for 25 minutes! (that's how long a single ride was!). But when I started catching a glimpse of the Big Buddha, I started to get more excited and less apprehensive. I've always wanted to visit that place!

Can you see the buddha in the background?

We then landed at the Ngong Ping Village which is the main attraction. It resembled a quaint chinese village with little stores and restos. :) We looked around the place for around an hour and a half--

OT: I was wearing my proenza schouler trapeze coat!

I did this pose too and made elderly people giggle around us, haha!

And then settled down to have lunch at Euro Go Go for lunch.

This is me inside the resto, all bushed from walking around the village and beyond it near the foot of the big buddha!

We then rode the cable car back again (which was another 25 minutes) --

View from the gondola whilst in the return ride.

and headed on to Citygate which is the outlet mall in tungchung! Lots of nice deals in this place dahlings. Drew hoarded 4 pairs of jeans (tough and twisted mind) and a backpack from bauhaus! I, on the other hand, only got a pair for myself (plus another one for bf). hehe

Other stores we bought at were quiksilver, nike, giordano, vivienne tam, esprit etc. We stayed there for roughly 2 hours (until around 3 pm) and then headed back to tsim sha tsui to put our stash in the hotel,freshen up and change clothes, and go out again. :) We ended up going back to granville stores and the miramar shopping center until it was already 7 pm and then we started walking along the stretch of nathan road leading up to salisbury road. We then went to the underground walkway and reached the Avenue of Stars at around 7:20 pm. We walked around and took pics of the skyline.

The wind was so cold! :) We both got hot chocolate at Pacific Coffee which was right in front of the bruce lee golden statue. I already posted my fave pic whilst drinking my hot choco along the avenue of stars so here's my shot of andrew.

Can you spot bruce lee in the pic?

As 8 pm approached, we then started walking to the front where the HK cultural center was to get the best view. :) The show was breath-takingly amazing as always! drew and I love it!

Here's my fave pic of drew taken during the symphony of lights. It was so difficult to take because it was so dark and the lights kept dancing all over the place. :)

And my most pa-cute pic during the entire trip, hahaha:

After the show at around 8:30 pm, we then went to SOGO right beside where we watched the show from and I bought a bottle of shu uemura UV underbase. :) We then started heading back to kimberley road but decided to eat at Tai Ping Koon in granville at 9:30 pm. :) Tai Ping Koon was recommended by mrs. t and is a quaint chinese resto with very good food and a nice low-lit ambiance.

Day 1 of Amazing Race with bro: Hongkong shopping and fun 2007

I have been anticipating writing about my short shopping and sightseeing trip with drew in hk since the moment I landed manila soil. But now that I am actually supposed to blog about it, I can't even think of how to start! Ironic, isn't it? How indeed do I start yapping about such an exhilirating trip! hehe. Well, let me just put it this way... It was indeed an amazing race--"fashion and fun" version with my fellow expert-shopper brother as partner (who's also in track and field btw so can you just imagine his pace and endurance? hehe). Anyway, we really made a great team and our self-concocted itinerary was better than any travel agent can possibly lay out for us! *grins* So ladies and gents, the next time you're going to hk for a shopping trip, you can definitely ask me to make an itinerary for you at a very minimal fee. hahaha, i kid, i kid! Well anyhow, I decided to try to talk about the trip on a day by day itinerary basis. I will probably miss out a lot of the small details but if you have a map of hk or have been there more than once, you can most probably re-trace our steps by following the entry. Oh and please forgive me for the lack of pics on the first day (some here are stock pics from google). Drew and I were too focused on shopping and exploring at the time!

Basically we allotted the first day for shopping and simply feeling the hongkong pulse within our veins (meaning no formal sightseeing yet). Upon arriving at the CLK airport at 10 am, we proceeded to take the airport express which is the quickest way to get to your area of destination from the airport. To those of you who are planning to go to hk anytime soon, I definitely recommend getting the HK$300 airport express return octopus card (it's actually $285 if you buy online). It is very convenient and comes with complimentary unlimited mtr rides for 3 days and free shuttle use to and from certain hotels. It only took us around 20 minutes to get to the Kowloon station and then we took the k5 free shuttle to our hotel which was roughly a 10 minute ride (it stops right in front of it.)

Off guard pics of me and Andrew taken by each other. I was on the walkway to the airport express entrance whilst drew is shown riding in style inside the train.

We were able to check in right away at our hotel at around 11am. It was all very smooth and hassle free, indeed a sign of good things to come! We really were pretty much set up to go around hk within 50 minutes of landing! Oh yeah, we stayed at a 4-star hotel called The Kimberley Hotel--

We stayed in the 16th floor! One of those square things on the top was our room’s window, haha.

which is located in kimberley road in tsim sha tsui (which btw, seems like the wedding gown central of hongkong haha) right across the luxe manor hotel. Location is perfect if you love hip and trendy clothes which is the main thing in granville road right beside it (more on that later). And also if you're looking to get vivienne westwood or uniqlo stuff as well because the miramar shopping center is a mere 2 minute walk from the hotel. We then unpacked our stuff and fixed up a little before heading outside and had authentic hk roasted duck and beef brisket noodles for lunch.

Here's drew wolfing down his yummy beef brisket noodles (I forgot the name of the small resto, we were hungry!). XD

After lunch, drew and I explored stores along granville road. According to the In-style HK guide (the one with daniel wu on the cover and was free with a preview issue), in the 80's and 90's granville road was once famous for its export surplus goods outlet where you could pick up "samples" of brand name goods at a fraction of retail prices. However, these outlets have been gradually replaced by edgy local casual wear brands such as b+ab and izzue.com under the i.t umbrella, as well as 2%, Modern Girl, and stores specialising in goods like japanese casual wear Evisu, US skateboarding brand Stussy, and Supreme. Other stores I personally loved were pe:tite, zuccoz, toonia, E.G.O. (for cute chucks and sneakers) and the shops at the Rise Shopping Arcade. It indeed was an area for fashionable youth! Warning: money flies fast here. I bought a lot of nice stuff!

Some random pics taken in granville:

I got cute tops here!

Andrew loved the egg balls being sold on the streets of granville for HK$10. It reminded him of waffles!

We then walked along nathan road where andrew got a super cute jacket from chevignon and I got bf a dressy long sleeved shirt at crocodile (this are among other things for the both of us hehehehe). Afterwards, we shopped along carnavon road and humphrey's ave which houses one of my favorite shoe stores called autinori. This store is owned by a stylish local guy named mickey zo who designs the shoes he sells himself. They are all leather made and intricately detailed and prices are around $300-400. His designs are also exported to japan and so his shoeboxes mostly has jap characters in them. I love his creations and only discovered them last year! He even remembers me now. haha!

Here’s Autinori’s ads from viaclub.com.hk, I’m sorry for forgetting to take pics! Mickey would have obliged. :)

At around 7:00 pm, drew and I dumped all our shopping stash back at the hotel and then went back out to ride the mtr to Central. Guess where we went? Yup! H&M!!! (But of course not before we looked inside LV at the landmark. haha). There was a very fast queue when we arrived but upon entering there the real ruckus began. I was like, carrying 10 articles of clothing in my hands along with 2 pairs of shoes and there was nowhere to lay them down at. The line for the fitting room and the pay counters were also insane. Thank God though that this is HK and not manila. No matter how long the line was, it was still a bit organized and was moving quite efficiently. The store is desperately in need of shopping baskets though!

Entrance of H&M, the same Madonna poster/billboard is still up.

An understated pic of how insane it is inside. The store was brimming with cute merchandise!

After 1 huge paperbag of h&m stuff, around 8:30 pm, drew and I ate at Cafe de Coral which is 1 minute away from h&m. He got the white chicken and roasted duck combo with soup and green veggies in brown sauce whilst I got the spareribs meals also with white soup and boiled cabbage. It was filling and fast!

Drew didn't look tired at all! Here he is whilst waiting for our order at cafe de coral.

Some stock pics of cafe de coral signs so that you can try it also when you go there!

After dinner, around 9 pm, drew and I then headed on to Mongkok to look at the Night Market and Ladies Market (which also actually has guy stuff). Yes, we were on a roll! hahaha. He was able to get a chinese collar silk costume top (which he absolutely had no use for but just wanted for fun) for HK$100 which the seller was initially selling at $180. (Crazy price drop from haggling, huh!) On the otherhand, I got 2 pairs of shoes for HK$99 each, as well as some things from very company and some other stores. haha, I really can't say everything we got simply because it's too hard to enumerate and remember! Oh and we also ate mango sago pudding at Hui Lau Shan. It was yummy and refreshing!

Stock pics of ladies market and hui lau shan. :)

After a little more (guess what) shopping (hehe) we then headed on home at around 11 pm and that concludes our first day in hong kong. Whew! I swear I heard my toes cursing me as I reached the hotel room. Hahaha! And that’s only day 1. XD

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"I don't understand how a woman can leave the house without fixing herself up a little - if only out of politeness. And then, you never know, maybe that's the day she has a date with destiny. And it's best to be as pretty as possible for destiny." -coco chanel